The best way to Turn into a Home-sitter in France

On this article, I’ll be outlining one of the best methods to grow to be a house-sitter in France. Alongside my husband, Rob, I’ve been touring the world constantly for 2 years. I commonly use home and pet-sitting websites to reinforce our experiences and preserve our lodging prices down.

There are a number of wonderful web sites out there for home and pet-sitting. Figuring out one of the best ones and learn how to use them effectively will enable you to safe house-sitting jobs in France and the remainder of the world. I’ll be outlining all my experiences, good and unhealthy, on this article.

I’ve accomplished over thirty housesits; starting from taking care of a small ranch in Tucson, Arizona, to caring for beach-loving canine in Santa Theresa, Costa Rica. I house-sat and pet-sat three completely different instances in France over 2 and a half months. This included taking care of 2 lovely canine, 2 cute cats, and a menagerie of birds, simply outdoors of Toulouse, France.

Since I began home and pet-sitting, I’ve not solely obtained free lodging worldwide, however I’ve discovered rather a lot and have some good tricks to cross on. Home sitting is a good way to fulfill new individuals and uncover completely different components of a rustic that you just may not in any other case get to see. Let’s get began.

The best way to Turn into a Home Sitter in France

There are a number of nice web sites out there for any burgeoning home and pet sitters. Discovering the precise one for you is the primary necessary step to take. Totally different websites have completely different execs and cons, so learn on to search out out extra.

1. Trusted Housesitters

Trustedhousesitters.com is my go-to website and the one I’ve used greater than some other. Their app and website-based platforms are simple to make use of and there’s all the time a ton of listings out there. I simply checked, and at present, there are 6,530 listings accepting functions for housesits world wide…lots of that are luxurious home sitting gigs.

My favourite facet of Trusted Housesitters is the power to avoid wasting your searches. For instance, after I was on the lookout for choices in France, I set my dates, my location (nation or metropolis/space), and different search standards. Should you don’t get any hits instantly, it can save you a search and be alerted when one matches the invoice.

Primary yearly membership begins at $95 and permits for limitless functions and housesits. Greater-tier memberships embrace completely different advantages equivalent to insurance coverage, vet chats, premium customer support, and a search and alert operate. The highest membership is $190 a yr. Goats On The Street readers obtain 20% off utilizing this hyperlink and promo code GOATS20.

2. Home Carers

Housecarers.com is an easy-to-use website-only home and pet-sitting website. Though the variety of listings can’t compete with Trusted Housesitters, it’s a nice thought to maintain your choices open and to construct your profile. Most individuals itemizing their property solely use one web site, so the precise posting for you may be ready on one other platform.

Housecarers.com doesn’t but have an app facility, so it’s important to head to the webpage to maintain up to the mark. Members obtain electronic mail notifications and alerts for doable housesits and when speaking with a bunch. The performance of the searches is nice and could be well-tailored to swimsuit numerous preferences, places, dates, pets, and so forth.

Housecarers.com is an inexpensive introduction to the world of housesitting. They’ve a free membership that lets you peruse all their listings in full. To use, you’ll must grow to be a fully-fledged paying member which at round $50/yr is a superb deal.

Should you’re considering of changing into a house-sitter in France, Housecarers.com could be a very good place to begin to get a really feel of what a housesitting web site affords and the way it all works.

☞ SEE ALSO: The best way to Put together For Your Home and Pet Sitting Job

3. Workaway

Workaway.information is probably higher often known as a volunteer/cultural trade web site than it’s for housesitting, but it surely shouldn’t be missed. I’ve used it to search out placements all around the world the place meals and lodging are exchanged for 4-5 hours of labor a day. Nonetheless, it has since grow to be a helpful device of mine for home and pet sitting.

Certainly one of their fundamental search choices is house-sitting and at a fast look, there are over 500 listings looking for sitters world wide, together with many individuals on the lookout for a house-sitter in France. Their web site and app are simple to make use of, listings are all the time nicely offered with loads of particulars, and communication with hosts is often fairly environment friendly.

Membership prices round $50/yr or $30pp/yr when a pair indicators up with a joint membership. I’ve made some terrific connections, long-term buddies, and world contacts by way of Workaway. I extremely suggest it as a string to your house-sitting bow. See Additionally:

4. Thoughts My Home

Mindmyhouse.com is likely one of the longest-serving on-line platforms for house-sitting. It started in 2005 and has a terrific open ethos that advantages everybody concerned. They’re additionally one of many least expensive round at simply $29/yr.

I like Thoughts My Home for the close-knit really feel of the corporate. In case you have a difficulty, you’ll possible converse on to one of many homeowners of the corporate. They play an lively function within the day-to-day. The ‘About Our Members’ part of their web site is a superb characteristic. It reveals what number of hosts and sitters are at present lively and the place they’re. Proper now, customers are at round 12,500 individuals.

For my part, Thoughts My Home may simply be the precise choice to get you began when you’re missing a bit confidence in embarking on your own home and pet-sitting profession in France.

5. Nomador

Nomador.com is a superb website when you’re trying to grow to be a pet sitter or home sitter in France. Though they do have listings world wide, there are a ton in Europe. Their web site is similar to Trusted Housesitters, priced equally, and equally as simple to make use of.

An incredible membership choice with Nomador is their 3-month short-term primary bundle. It permits new customers to dip their toes in and see if the housesitting sport is for them. Added advantages equivalent to insurance coverage, premium customer support, and early entry to new listings include increased membership costs. The highest-end bundle is round $190/yr.

Regardless of not having an app, Nomador is a superb choice for newcomers to deal with and pet sitting. See Additionally: Inquiries to Ask a Dwelling and Pet Proprietor Earlier than Accepting a Job

Private Expertise Housesitting in France

My husband and I pet-sat in France for simply over two months. It was superb! Even in mid-November, it’s heat sufficient to drink a beer outdoors within the south of the nation. Whether or not you’re in a small city out within the countryside or one of many massive cities, it’s such a good looking vacation spot with one thing for everybody.

Home-sits in France typically embrace a pet, or pets, to take care of. In rural areas, a component of gardening and watering often comes into the equation too. Simply housesitting listings (no pets) do come up, however for essentially the most half, a pet or pets are sometimes all the time a part of the discount. Every time I’ve been a house-sitter in France, the hosts have included a automotive too (extra on this later).

I sorted 2 lovely largely out of doors cats in Bergerac, the place my largest activity was sustaining the swimming pool! Then I moved additional north to Limoges and took care of a pleasant little Jack Russel terrier known as Alfie. My last cease was simply outdoors Toulouse, within the tiny however beautiful village of Cologne – 2 cats, 2 canine, and let me depend… 23 birds!

☞ SEE ALSO: 15 Professionals and Cons of Home and Pet Sitting

Finest Areas to Home Sit in France

As I’m initially from the UK, I’ve visited France many instances previously. There are many nice areas to go to from small cities within the countryside to large cities. Listed here are a number of of my prime locations to contemplate house-sitting in France:

1. Paris

Probably the most iconic, and maybe the obvious, place to get pleasure from house-sitting in France is the French capital, Paris. It’s a very fantastic metropolis stuffed with artwork and tradition that bubbles with life and ambiance — there are infinite issues to see and do in Paris. World-class eating places, cool bars, and cafes that set the usual for espresso tradition worldwide are round each nook.

Home-sitting in an enormous metropolis like Paris will imply extra of an city setting and the expertise might be akin to a metropolis break reasonably than a rural retreat. Smaller metropolis homes and residences appear to dominate most of the listings I see on the housesitting websites for Paris. This in fact comes with the additional benefit of getting on a regular basis facilities in your doorstep.

I haven’t but been to Paris for a housesit, however have visited many instances for brief weekend breaks. It could be an incredible place to base your self as a house-sitter in France.

Location: Paris is positioned in the direction of the North of France, round 2.5 hours from the coast and three hours from neighboring Belgium. Discover it right here.

2. Bergerac

My first expertise as a house-sitter in France was truly in Bergerac and it’s the right place to kick issues off. The attractive and historic city dates again to the Center Ages and has many well-preserved medieval buildings. It sits on the beautiful Dordogne River and is a in style vacation spot for vacationers.

An incredible profit to house-sitting in Bergerac is that lots of people converse English. That is because of the quantity of British vacationers and expats that reside within the area. I ordered a spherical of drinks in my greatest unhealthy French, and the waitress responded in a thick London accent, “Lets discuss in English as a substitute?”.

There are a great deal of cute cities located close by equivalent to Pereguex and Riberac, and Bordeaux is simply over an hour away. Good transport hyperlinks make getting out and about simple. It’s often fairly low-cost too. I used BlaBlaCar a number of instances, which is a superb ride-sharing app unique to Europe and really low-cost.

Location: Bergerac is positioned in the direction of the southeast of France, round an hour east of Bordeaux and 6 hours south of Paris. Discover it right here on the map.

3. Toulouse

I house-sat and pet-sat simply outdoors Toulouse for a few month. My location was fairly a small city simply outdoors of town but it surely was very easy to get to central Toulouse. Fortunately, the hosts left their automotive behind to be used throughout our keep. There’s an categorical prepare into Toulouse that I traveled on rather a lot, which at sure instances of the day prices round $1.

Toulouse is called ‘The Pink Metropolis’. That is because of the variety of terracotta brick buildings that give it a heat and rosy glow. The Canal du Midi, a UNESCO World Heritage Website, runs via Toulouse, with many nice spots for leisurely strolls, boat rides, or just stress-free.

Toulouse has a bustling vibe, with full of life markets, cafes, and a thriving restaurant and nightlife scene. A visit to the Convent des Jacobins is an incredible expertise. Drinks beside the Garonne River and Pont Neuf are additionally a should. Home-sitting on this area could be excellent for anybody looking for quiet retreats on the outskirts, barely outdoors of a extra fast-paced metropolis expertise.

Location: Toulouse is positioned within the southern a part of France, round 105 miles (170 km) from the border of Andorra and 155 miles (250 km) from Spain. Paris is round 420 miles (678 km) to the north.

4. Montpellier

Montpellier was the primary metropolis I visited in France and it affords a novel expertise for anybody contemplating changing into a house-sitter in France. Certainly one of my favourite issues about being a short lived native isn’t just visiting however actually residing someplace. Think about waking up in a centuries-old residence with slender medieval streets simply outdoors your step – that’s Montpellier!

An incredible perk of housesitting in Montpellier is indulging within the many culinary treats. Recent produce is offered every day at native markets and there are a number of excellent eating places and cafes all around the metropolis. Montpellier can be identified for its full of life ambiance due partly to it being residence to one in all Europe’s oldest universities.

Past town, housesitting within the Montpellier space may even embrace seaside stays alongside the Mediterranean coast or extra rural houses surrounded by the pure fantastic thing about the area. Situating your self right here would provide the freedom to discover the seashores, spend time in nature, and embrace a vibrant metropolis as a house-sitter in France.

Location: Montpellier is positioned on the Mediterranean coast within the south of France. It’s round 2.5 hours east of Toulouse, 3.5 hours west of Good, and 280 miles (450 km) to the Italian border. Click on right here to search out Montpellier on the map.

5. Limoges

Limoges was a brand new metropolis for me. I knew it was a reasonably centrally positioned, massive metropolis, with a college, and that it had good direct prepare hyperlinks to my subsequent already-confirmed placement in Toulouse.

I’m glad I opted to go to Limoges. It’s a metropolis steeped in historical past and it exudes an old-world appeal, with its cobblestone streets and half-timbered homes. Though my house-sit was a reasonably fashionable condo, house-sitting alternatives right here may very well be for centuries-old houses. What an expertise that will be!

There are some nice museums, an impressive cathedral, and a few fascinating historic websites that may delight fellow historical past buffs like me. As a college city, there are many cool bars and nice locations to eat to swimsuit each finances, and there’s all the time tons happening. My husband and I spent his birthday in Limoges and it was an excellent day of meals, drink, and cultural sightseeing.

Location: Limoges is positioned pretty centrally in France, edging in the direction of the south. It’s round 4 hours south of Paris and three hours north of Toulouse. Discover it right here on the map.

Is France Secure?

I discovered France to be a secure place to go to, and it’s thought of a secure vacation spot for vacationers. Like all nation, it’s necessary to stay vigilant, particularly in crowded vacationer areas the place petty theft can happen. Train widespread sense, equivalent to keeping track of private belongings and staying conscious of your environment.

French authorities take safety severely, and main vacationer websites are sometimes well-monitored. As a house-sitter in France, do your greatest to remain knowledgeable about any advisory warnings, and in case of any emergency, dial 112 the European emergency quantity. Having an insurance coverage coverage to cowl issues equivalent to private damage, lack of belongings, and theft is all the time extremely advisable.

If it’s your first time as a house-sitter in France and you intend to drive, it’s all the time a good suggestion to familiarize your self with native driving rules forward of time. Don’t study issues the laborious method, particularly when you’re renting a automotive or utilizing the homeowners’ automobile. Even skilled drivers will profit from a fast read-through of one other nation’s driving customs.

Professionals and Cons of Being a Home Sitter in France

There are execs and cons to staying wherever. Listed here are a number of of the important thing factors which have cropped up throughout my time as a house-sitter in France:

Professionals of Dwelling in France

• High quality of Life: France persistently ranks excessive for high quality of life. It has a robust healthcare system, wonderful public providers, and a very good give attention to work-life steadiness.
• Culinary Paradise: Famend for its gastronomy, France has a various and beautiful tradition with meals that’s deeply ingrained in its tradition and historical past. As a house-sitter in France, you’ll be spoilt for alternative!
• Public Transportation: Environment friendly and intensive public transportation networks make commuting and journey inside France handy and eco-friendly.
• Cultural Richness: France’s wealthy artwork, literature, and structure historical past is unparalleled.
• Scenic Landscapes: From the picturesque countryside to the beautiful Mediterranean coast, France is residence to many breathtaking landscapes.
• Unbelievable Wine: France is well-known for making among the greatest wine on the earth. Good bottles of wine can be found in supermarkets for as little as $2.

Cons of Dwelling in France

• Paperwork: France is thought for bureaucratic processes that may typically be complicated and time-consuming.
• Language Barrier: The language barrier could be difficult for a house-sitter in France who isn’t fluent in French. Although many French individuals converse English, many additionally don’t.
• Strikes and Protests: France has a historical past of strikes and protests, which might often disrupt public providers and transportation.
• Price of Dwelling: The price of residing in sure areas, particularly in main cities like Paris, could be comparatively excessive in comparison with different nations.
• Climate Variability: Whereas France typically has a nice local weather, climate circumstances can fluctuate, and a few areas expertise excessive temperatures and climate occasions.
• Critically Rural Areas: Should you like having facilities in your doorstep 24/7, a few of France’s extra rural areas is probably not for you as they lack on a regular basis conveniences. Many small cities and villages require a drive into greater cities for providers.
• Weekend Hunters: Searching with weapons or packs of canine is a well-liked pastime in lots of areas of France particularly on weekends. Should you’re pet-sitting or planning to grow to be a house-sitter in France take further precautions and search recommendation out of your hosts about the place to go and when.

Suggestions for Home Sitting in France

With a lot to contemplate earlier than taking over a list, I’ve put collectively a number of of my prime suggestions for house-sitting in France:

• Know your location: France has some very rural areas and housesits could also be method out within the countryside unsupported by public transportation. Be totally conscious of the precise space you’re heading to and the way simple it’s to get to grocery shops, cafes, and so forth.
• Ask a few automotive: If the individuals you’re housesitting for are leaving the nation they could be leaving their automotive behind. Typically, the insurance coverage in France covers anybody with a legitimate license to drive a correctly insured automobile – excellent for a house-sitter in France!
• Be taught the market schedule: Weekly markets are nonetheless a extremely popular factor in France, it’s how a variety of locals get most of their produce. You’ll discover every thing from garments and quick meals to recent and inexpensive groceries at a city market.
• Carry some money: Most locations, even the markets, settle for card funds however not all. Should you’re staying outdoors of an enormous metropolis discovering a cashpoint that doesn’t cost a hefty price could be a actual ache. Seize an inexpensive money float when you may.
• Put together for spotty WiFi: Most hosts might be clear and upfront in regards to the WiFi state of affairs. We’ve had a number of connection points in rural France so I like to recommend having a pay-as-you-go SIM for information as a backup.
• Plan your purchasing: Many supermarkets, even the actually massive ones will shut round midday on Sundays. So plan your purchasing accordingly.
• Put together to make fires: I discovered that many rural homes in France had been heated nearly solely by a fire. Hosts ought to all the time depart you ample provides of wooden and present you learn how to function them, however constructing good fires is a necessity out within the French countryside.

Home Sitting in France: FAQs

Listed here are some solutions to essentially the most generally requested questions on house-sitting in France:

In Conclusion

I hope this text has helped with some concepts on learn how to grow to be a housesitter in France. It actually is an excellent nation and one which I really feel everybody ought to expertise sooner or later of their lives.

Home and pet sitting gives an incredible alternative to journey extra cost-effectively. For me, it additionally heightens the expertise of each journey. I’ve made some lifelong buddies alongside the best way, with each the individuals I’ve sat for and their buddies and neighbors.

I rave about home and pet-sitting to anybody who will pay attention. It’s one thing that’s modified my life and has opened up so many home windows of alternative for journey that I by no means thought doable.

Good luck!